In early January of 2011, the Sudanese had their first election since the start of the authoritative dictatorship of self-declared President Omar al-Bashir in 1989. Most of us might recognize the name of this country because of the brutal civil war, oppression, and the displaced people groups surrounding Sudan as a result of President al-Bashir's alleged (he hasn't been convicted) genocide. Some might say the struggle has been going on since before al-Bashir's coup d'etat, but now the country is getting a chance to finally change that.
The southern Sudanese, led by Salva Kiir, had an astounding 97% turnout. The north had a slightly lower turnout, 60%. Looking at these numbers, anyone from the United States should be impressed at these statistics, but the most important thing to notice here is the percentage of people who voted for secession. In the south, over 99% of voters voted for secession. If that isn't a mandate, I don't know what is. Although the actual vote hasn't been officially made, the south plans to declare independence on July 9. There is a long way to go, and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon mentioned many of the issues that will require much thought and action in the coming months as the south declares itself as an independent nation, but I can't express how happy I am to see the Sudanese gain their independence.
The Sudanese have the support of the U.N. and many other countries around the world, and after all their suffering and pain, I am excited see how southern Sudan will fare in the near future.
3 comments:
It makes sense that there was a high voter turnout - if Americans were deprived of elections for over two decades, I'm sure that we'd have high turnout as well! I, too, am incredibly happy to hear that Sudan is reincorporated this vital democratic aspect.
But what does this mean for the north? How will losing the south affect the country? And what about Darfur? I'm not knowledgeable enough on the subject to understand the inner-workings of the Sudanese government...anyone care to enlighten me?
I find this to be a very enlightening thing. The Sudanese have gone through so much and they finally deserve their peace. The Sudanese noting outcome in the south should show Americans that voting is a crucial thing and everyone who is eligible to vote should take advantage of it because you don't know how good you have it till it is gone. I hope that all Americans just register to vote because you have a chance to make our country the way you want it so might as well cast your vote. Back to the original topic, i hope that South Sudan's desire to declare independence and break away doesn't ignite any larger problems.
Unfortunately, I think it will lead to serious problems in Sudan. As far as I know (a little, but not a lot), southern Sudan has oil fields, and thus the vast majority of the income for the country. Because of that, I expect there will be serious issues revolving around the country's/ countries' income(s). I think that there will be a lot of news coverage about this in the coming months, and I hope that the people of southern Sudan can separate safely from the current regime.
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